Romania’s largest telecom operators Orange, Vodafone and Telekom plan to challenge the emergency ordinance (OUG) 114/2018 unless the Government amended it in the sense of eliminating the provisions related to the telecom industry stipulated in the initial text enacted in late December, Profit.ro informed quoting a leaked document from the three companies.

The three telecom operators plan to refer OUG 114 to the Constitutional Court, and their experts estimate significant odds to win the case.

The document quoted by Profit.ro elaborates on the Special Fine, to be charged from telecom operators that breach the construction permits regime. The OUG 114 includes two other key provisions on the telecom sector, namely stipulating higher fees, which have also been rejected by the telecom operators in the past but are not mentioned by Profit.ro.

As regards the Special Fine, it can reach up to 10% of the company’s turnover, in cases when telecom groups contract construction works from third parties without holding a construction permit (or the permit of the owner of the location). This Special Fine is disproportionate and discriminatory as it is charged only to the companies in the telecom industry, the companies explain in their complaint already prepared for sending to the Constitutional Court.

editor@romania-insider.com

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